Have you ever taken a picture of one of your children or a beautiful landscape and it just didn’t come out right? It can be so frustrating when you recognize a photo opportunity, but your picture doesn’t reflect the true essence of what you tried to capture. If you are not a professional photographer than there is a high probability that many of your photos don’t come out how you had hoped. The good news is that there are simple steps you can take that will help you get professional looking photos, even if you are an amateur photographer!

At the Gearshift, we have compiled a list of what we believe are the most important steps to fantastic photography:

Choose the right camera. Walking into a camera store can be outright intimidating, even surfing the Web for the right camera to meet your needs can be a daunting task. All of the manufacturers today have adequate camera bodies that have the capability of taking photos of ten megapixels or larger. The majority of these cameras have similar functions, including shutter speed, aperture (controls the amount of light), ISO (measures the sensitivity of digital imaging systems) and white balance (setting that adjusts for lighting). Many cameras nowadays also have video capability.

Since most cameras have the same functions, you need to look at lens compatibility. For example, you will want lenses that are compatible with the cameras that manufacturers will produce next. As a professional photographer, I use Nikon cameras and lenses that I have owned for five years. Even though I am on my fourth camera, I can still use these lenses. Lenses are the most important component of the camera.

Invest in some lenses. Since lenses are so crucial to good picture taking, you need to pay careful attention to the lens you use. If you have purchased a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) recently, which is basically a camera with interchangeable lenses, it would be worth the money to try a wide-angle lens, a prime lens and a telephoto lens. You don’t have to stick with the lens that came with your camera. However, be aware that this step is not applicable if you have a small point-and-shoot camera.